Last month, I wrote about my attempt to self-rejuvenate through small moments of joy, and I asked readers to submit some tips of their own. Boy, did you come through. Two clear themes emerged in the dozens of replies we received. The first: You people are wild about your pets! So many readers wrote in to share daily rituals involving terriers, retrievers, house cats, and even rescue rabbits (!). These suggestions inspired me to take a moment to inhale the scent of my own dog (she smells like corn chips). The other through line in your answers was an urge to be outside and behold Earth’s wonders. Many of the daily delights you submitted involved gardening, bird-watching, hiking, or sunset-savoring—sans phone or laptop.
Below is a selection of answers that I found particularly delightful, inspiring, or hilarious. They’ve been lightly edited and condensed for clarity.
“During the pandemic, when we were both working from home, my husband and I started having a daily ‘tea-and-toast break’ when our schedules accommodated. It provides a few minutes each day when we talk, laugh, sit in the garden, or otherwise relax and enjoy each other’s company.” — Dawn Schneiderman, Williston, Vermont
“There is a food truck down the street that serves brisket tacos. I walk down a couple times a week. The owner calls me ‘Gramma.’ A little farther down is a bar/lounge that sells coffee from locally roasted beans. They call me ‘hot rod’ or ‘hot wheels’ because I drive a red 2007 Mustang convertible.” — D. E., 76, Texas
“I make my bed. But I don’t just make it; I ‘remake’ it: I air out the sheets while eating breakfast, then I start by smoothing down the fitted sheet before bringing up each layer again. In the end, I have a beautifully made bed that makes me feel that I have not only ‘closed the door’ to the night before, but that I have officially opened the door to the day.” — Tony D.
“Every morning, I hear my blue jays alerting me that they are sitting in the river-birch tree in the backyard, waiting for their morning peanuts. As soon as I toss the peanuts, a flock of jays flutters down to grab them. With a smile, I get my coffee and watch.” — Susan H.
“After I start the coffee, the dog and then the cat get their morning pets and rubs, from nose to tail. I inquire how they slept, about the day’s plans, and if breakfast was to their liking. The actors have changed over the years, but it is a well-rehearsed script.” — Denise L.
“When waiting for my computer to do something, I listen to a song-in-progress I’m recording in GarageBand and imagine how great it will sound when it’s finished, and how I will get it there.” — Bob C., Larchmont, New York
“Rather than start my day delectably, I end it, around midnight, with a short, slow walk to the park with my 9-year-old, chubby Norwich Terrier. Magnolia and I talk; I do it with words, she with looks and reactions, both of us unleashed in the coolness of the desert night after a day of three-digit temperatures.” — Rosemary K., 67, Las Vegas, Nevada
“I’ve been knitting, off and on, since I was 8. I keep a project in the car for when I’m stuck at a long train crossing, in the pickup lane at Walmart for my prescription, or at the Whataburger drive-through. You’d be surprised at how quickly you can knit a pair of baby socks in scraps of time.” — Lynn Elliott Davis, 73, Dallas, Texas
“I add a small delectable moment by letting my Sheltie dog lick my feet at the end of the day. Judging by her enthusiasm, this seems to be a delectable moment for her as well.” — Kim Stanley, 70, McPherson, Kansas
“I ask myself every morning what would enchant my day. The answers vary: a walk in the forest behind my house, mad dancing to ’80s tunes in the living room, reading for two hours straight in the evening, talking to my best friend, sipping a glass of something or other by the window sans screens.” — Sibylle L.
“I simply make a point of talking to strangers by finding something small we share at the moment—that the bus is late, or that an interesting dog just walked by.” — William Lynch Higgins, Port Townsend, Washington
“We recently discovered the Japanese art of dorodango, where you roll mud into balls and polish them until they shine like mirrored glass. It’s incredible, free, and utterly satisfying. The final result has the weight and hardness of a billiard ball—using nothing but dirt and water!” — Khara Plicanic, 46, Lincoln, Nebraska
“I try nearly every day to belt out all the words of my favorite earworm of the moment. Lately, it’s been Lady Gaga’s ‘Vanish Into You.’ It’s like I’m in a music video. Okay—probably more likely an episode of Girls.” — Brittany Shepherd, 30, Washington, D.C.
“My small, delectable moment is when I take a nap with my dog Rosie at around 3 p.m. every afternoon. She sleeps at the far corner of the bed when we nap. However, at night, when she also sleeps with me, she places herself right next to my head. I don’t know why she makes this distinction, but she always makes me laugh.” — R. F. Mezzy, almost 73, Hamden, Connecticut
“I am a full-time caretaker for my partner of 49 years. It’s hard and demanding work marinated in sadness, so small moments of joy are very important. My favorite time is the early morning, when I take the dogs for a walk as my loved one sleeps. Their wagging tails and springing steps remind me that happiness lives in me as well.” — Jane S., 79, California
“A landscape painter once told me that in order to truly capture a scene, he first tries to name the colors he sees. You have to stop and really take in something, be it a flower, a child’s eyes, a mountain, or a cloud, in order to describe its colors.” — Crys S., 69, Fernie, British Columbia, Canada
“One of the best moments of my day is my ‘thriller’ walk. I throw on a hat, grab a cup of coffee and my AirPods, and take an hour-long walk while I listen to a psychological thriller or mystery. It’s the only time I allow myself an audiobook, so I’m genuinely excited to wake up early and head out the door.” — Diane H., 62, Black Diamond, Washington
“I look for a gift each day. A redbud leaf with scalloped edges gifts me the awareness that a leafcutter bee is nearby. A hawk soaring. A toad in the yard, a turtle crossing the road. If I stop to be observant, I can identify the gift for that day.” — Cheryl
“Is it a cliché to point to morning coffee as an immediate, life-affirming delight? Each day contains exactly one first sip and no more. You need to make it through a whole day to earn another—and then it starts all over again.” — Meg Z. S., 71, Old Saybrook, Connecticut
Today’s News
Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin will hold a joint press conference after tomorrow’s one-on-one meeting, according to White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt. Trump said he believes that Putin is “going to make a deal” on the war in Ukraine and added that he might invite Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky for further talks if the meeting goes well.
Florida will open a second state-run immigration detention center called “Deportation Depot” in a former prison west of Jacksonville, according to Governor Ron DeSantis. The facility could hold up to 2,000 federal detainees.
Dispatches
Time-Travel Thursdays: For centuries, humans have tried to understand how to define a “genius.” Helen Lewis writes about the flawed ways we decide who gets that label.
There’s a quiet revolution in how millions of Americans decide what’s real. Trust is slipping away from traditional institutions—media, government, and higher education—and shifting to individual voices online, among them social-media creators. The Reuters Institute reports that this year, for the first time, more Americans will get their news from social and video platforms—including Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, TikTok, and X—than from traditional outlets. According to Pew Research, one in five adults now regularly turns to influencers for news.
For anyone who cares about credible information, this is a potentially terrifying prospect.
